Digbeth site snapped up for 366 new apartments
A BIRMINGHAM developer has acquired land in the city which is due to house more than 360 new apartments.
Jewellery Quarter-based Cordia Blackswan has bought the 1.9-acre site at the corner of Moseley Street and Moseley Road, Digbeth, from Rainier Developments.
In June, Rainier secured planning consent to build 366 apartments but Cordia Blackswan said it now planned to submit revised proposals in partnership with Rainier although full details are yet to be released.
It is the developer’s first foray into the Digbeth area of the city, having previously been focused on projects in the Jewellery Quarter such as the transformation of the 19th century Gothic pub and the Bradford Works shared-living scheme.
The project in Digbeth is not without its detractors, with some councillors speaking out against potential noise issues at the scheme while the owner of Cleary’s Irish bar opposite the development site said it could impact the venue’s late licence.
Cordia Blackswan’s managing director Marcus Hawley said: “For our first development in Digbeth, this great scheme is ideal and large enough for us to create our own placemaking opportunity.
“We have built an excellent relationship with Rainier and their team who have done an excellent job in securing the site and bringing forward the proposals.
“With great design potential to build on, we will now supplement these consented plans with additional amenity space to provide a better quality of living to all residents.
“The Birmingham residential market
is currently strong, displaying great resilience that has placed it ahead of regional and national growth rates, aligning perfectly with Cordia Blackswan’s expansion plans.
“Digbeth is one of the city’s upand-coming locations with an undersupply of good-quality accommodation and latent demand.”
Richard Mees, chief executive of Rainier Developments, added: “It has been a pleasure working with
Cordia Blackswan with whom we have shared values in investing in the Midlands region with exciting, brownfield-led regeneration projects that provide much-needed new homes, including affordable homes for the Midlands region.
“We are very excited to see this project being delivered which, upon completion, will be one of the first build-to-rent schemes of significant scale in the Digbeth area.”